Women Filmmakers

Women Filmmakers
Abstract
The purpose of the paper and the poster is to create awareness on the role played by women as directors, screenwriters, and producers in the film industry. Most women act rather than work behind the camera. Therefore, the poster aims at giving inspiring women to explore their potential as far as technical filmmaking is concerned. More so, it mentions the names of prominent personalities and their famous films as a strategy for motivation. For instance, Antonia Bird with the movie, “Mad love” and Kathryn Bigelow with “Hurt Locker” are among the modern female directors with an outstanding presence in the industry. The poster also cites some challenges which reduce the number of female directors. Some of the reasons include sexist remarks, systematic degradation of women, long hours of work, and male-dominated audience. Nonetheless, film companies are urged to promote female directors with the hope of creating healthy competition aimed at development.

Women Filmmakers
Women in filmmaking happen to be a minority group when compared to their male counterparts. Most of the people are men whether it is producing, directing, or simply holding a camera. As such, I decided to conduct research aimed at creating awareness of those incredible women behind the camera. Also, I hope to encourage young girls to focus on technical work in the film industry as opposed to always being in front of the camera. The film industry has existed for many decades and awards for performance for the technical crew developed at a certain point.

Interestingly enough, no female director has even won an Oscar. Cochrane (2012) posits that there are some promising names such as Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Campion, and Andrea Arnold. She hopes that the names will continue to grow in addition to stating the directors and their associated films. Examples of these are as follows:
Antonia Bird (Mad Love, Priest)
Jane Campion (Bright Star)
Kathryn Bigelow (Hurt Locker)
The biggest challenge for women behind the camera rose during the inception of the film in the late 1800s. Women were celebrated for their appearance rather than their skills CITATION Mar10 l 1033 (Cooper, 2010). The traditional stereotypic image of woman as something to look at rather than anything else made acting more authentic than filmmaking for them. In so doing, the trend pushed few women in film and theatrical studies. Those who dared to venture into the business were meant with disapproval along with sexist remarks. According to the National Women’s History Museum (2016) women played a crucial aspect of filmmaking with roles as screenwriters, directors, and editors. A good example would be Alice Guy Blache who started off as a secretary before directing films. Alice became a role model for female directors across America and the whole world. One of her apprentices, Lois Weber, directed one of the most famous films in the early 20th century, “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle” CITATION Web17 l 1033 (Weber & Smalley, 1917). Female directors are known for their ability to produce movies which teach about ethics and morals.
Sadly, the involvement of women behind the camera reduced over the decades to a point where few are nominated for awards leaves alone winning them. Kira (2012) believes that women are few because of cultural differences between the genders. Whenever someone thinks of women in the film industry, they imagine actresses. Only a countable number of individuals are capable of listing female directors when prompted to in the 21st century. The sexism remarks and systematic degradation of women in most formal institutions place men ahead of women in every instance. Others credit the trend to the fact revolving motherhood for female directors. Technical work such as directing takes over 16 hours for a normal day and women with kids have a hard time balancing. Nonetheless, career women develop a schedule aimed for growth in both areas. Levitin, Plessis, and Raoul (2012) found that the reason why men are more popular in directing is due to the intended audience. Studies reveal that teenage boys tend to watch movies more than their female counterparts. Consequently, filmmakers will develop movies that arouse the interest of male viewers. Female directors have a minimal understanding of this phenomenon to the merit of their male colleagues. Schools and film companies should encourage participation of female directors and screenwriters as much as they systematically do for men.

References
BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Cochrane, K. (2012, January 31). Why are there so few female film-makers? Retrieved November 16, 2016, from Guardian.com: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jan/31/female-film-makers
Cooper, M. G. (2010). Universal Women: Filmmaking and Institutional Change in Early Hollywood. University of Illinois Press.
Levitin, J., Plessis, J., & Raoul, V. (2012). Women Filmmakers: Refocusing. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge.
Weber, L., & Smalley, P. (Directors). (1917). The Hand that Rocks the Cradle [Motion Picture].
Women Behind the Camera: Women as Directors. (2016). Retrieved 2016, from National Women’s History Museum: https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/film/8.html